Cub Scout Hike

We took the boys on a hike to Ledges today for cub scouts.  Only the MacPhersons and our family came but we had a great time with Stefanie, myself, and 10 kids.  Fortunately, Ryan was our navigator and got us to where we needed to be and back even though we didn't start the hike where we thought we were supposed to start the hike.  We were there for over 3 hours hiking about 3 miles and Joshie walked the entire way!  They had fun climbing the rocks, throwing rocks in the streams, going into ice box cave, and exploring in general.  We were saying we need to do this again when husbands can come and then have a picnic afterwards.

8 Months!

Amazingly enough Gideon is already 8 months old.  He is a happy little guy.  His current favorite pastimes include:

*Getting into Scout's food and water and making a mess of himself and the kitchen floor.

*Crawling after the kids and hiding from me...there are times I call out to the kids, "Where's Gideon?" to hear a chorus of, "In here with us."  I know soon I won't have to ask because they will be calling out to me, "Mom, can you get Gideon out of our stuff?" before I even notice he is gone.

*Sitting and crawling in the grass.  This kid loves the grass and doesn't mind it one bit.

*Splashing in the bathtub.

*Biting toes, feet, and Mom's shoulders and neck.  I sure hope his top teeth come in soon!

*Eating bananas and cheese

*Terrorizing Scout and then smiling up at me with such a sweet innocent smile when I tell him to leave Scout alone.

*Standing against the coaches to hear the cheers of his siblings...which usually causes him to get more excited and fall down!

*Sleeping all night now that he and Joshie share a room!

*Having fun at night when he is supposed to be going to sleep and Joshie climbs in his crib to "read" him stories.

*Airplane rides from Thomas.

*Receiving countless compliments on his beautiful red hair and bright blue eyes. 

*Smiling so easily at anyone that comes around him.  He has a cute little "shy shrug" where he smiles and then turns his head and buries it in my shoulder only to peek out again to see if anyone is still looking at him.

*Bringing a peace and joy into our home!

Food

Gideon has become quite the little eater lately.  He loves to eat and he loves sitting at the table with  us.  He has also entered the stage of grabbing the spoon and sticking his hands into his mouth whenever we feed him.  During dinner tonight he discovered the joy of throwing Cheerios onto the floor and watching Scout go after them.  He would throw them on the floor, watch Scout go after them, and just giggle.  I love seeing more of his personality beginning to shine through!

Mary's New Haircut

I took Mary to get a haircut this morning. I love it and, more importantly, she loves it. When she was sitting there having it cut I choked up a little and thought, "There goes my baby!" It always amazes me how much a haircut can change their look. It will be so much nicer this summer though.

Gideon Update



Gideon got high centered on his toy basket.



Our little guy continues to bring such joy into our lives. I love his smile and his cuddles and especially the hugs he gives to me. He is all over the place now and we never quite know where we will find him. He has become very adventurous lately and I know not only have Scout underfoot in the kitchen but Gideon as well. Gideon loves to "play" with Scout and, thankfully, Scout is very tolerant of him. I think Gideon enjoys having someone his size and on his level to grab at and play with. His favorite toys of late are cars, little people, and Scout's chew toys. I am still trying to get used to his red hair and fair complexion and all that comes with that. We were at the park yesterday and I forgot to put sunscreen on him resulting in a nice sunburn. I feel so bad and only hope he doesn't peel from it.  

Ledges Hike

This afternoon we decided to go on a hike in the National Park.  Joel took the scouts on this hike last night during their campout and he was excited for our family to go.  It is called "Ledges" because there are some areas where there are ledges formed from the rocks that drop down 20 or more feet.  You can hike down and then walk through the small spaces formed from the rocks.  There is also "ice box cave" where the temperature drops at least 25 degrees as you get to the entrance and go inside.  We all enjoyed the hike.  It was beautiful.  And, Mary, was such a trooper walking the whole way even though she is not feeling well again.  That little girl is strong and works so hard to keep going when she wants to do something even if she doesn't feel so well.  I am sure we will return to this area because there are lots of other trails we could explore.

Basketball Camp

Spring was in Basketball Camp again this week at the local high school.  She loved her time there and was so sad today when it was over.  She is already talking about going back to the camp next summer as well.  It is so fun to see her excitement and to see her improvement.  One thing this week that I hope to remember is her comittment to modesty.  I am apalled at the clothing some of these young girls are wearing to play basketball.  Spring is so committed to being modest all the time and she also is very aware of what others wear. She found ways to alter things she saw so she would remain modest.  She never once even came close to the line and all this without us needing to say anything.  I'm grateful for her testimony and desire to be modest.

Slurpees

There's just something fun about slurpees on hot and humid days.  You would have thought we had just bought the world for the kids when we took them to get slurpees and they all got to have their own.  We usually get a couple and let them share but they were all hot and really thirsty so we splurged (plus they are only 89 cents each).  We came home and we played outside while they finished them before heading to bed.  I'm so grateful they are appreciative of such little things.

Trying out the Organ

Thomas has been wanting to learn to play the organ for quite some time.  We found a free audio course from BYU online that is designed for pianists that have been called as organists.  So, tonight Joel took Thomas back to the church to try out the first lesson.  Thomas LOVED it!  He was so happy and so in his element.  On the way home Thomas told Joel, "That was SO much fun!"  Thomas is going to go to the church on Wednesday evenings when Joel is there with the Young Men so he can practice.  Here are a couple videos Joel took tonight of Thomas trying it out for the first time.

Our Beautiful Children

"And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the devil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.  But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another."  (Mosiah 4:14-15)

Spring's Newest Project

Spring continues to enjoy sewing lessons with Sue Ann.  This  is her latest project.  It took them about 5 weeks of sewing lessons to complete it.  She has lessons once a week for about 1-1 1/2 hours.  She really enjoys sewing and is doing so wonderful with it. She wants to wear this dress after she is baptized.  Not only does she love sewing; she also loves her time with Sue Ann.

Sammy's Night Out

Sue Ann invited Sammy to go to a Cleveland Indians game with her, her sister, and her brother in law on Friday night.  Sammy was thrilled to go.  Sue Ann said her brother in law, Dan, and Sammy hit it off and were buddies at the game. She also said that everywhere they went Sammy was treated like a celebrity.  She said it was just amazing to watch.  Dan promised Sammy that no matter what he was going to get a ball that night.  Sue Ann was not too pleased with him for promising something like that because she didn't want him to be disappointed.  Shortly after they got inside the ballpark a police officer came over to Sammy and shook his hand and welcomed him to the park.  Then he gave him a baseball that he had gotten during batting practice.  Sue Ann was shocked!  They ate dinner (Sammy had hot dogs) at the clubhouse (Sue Ann's sister had the tickets from her work) and Sammy asked the waitress if he could see the chef.  The Chef came out to the table to meet Sammy and talk with him.  At one point during the game Dan went walking around and invited Sammy to go with him.  When they got back to their seats Sammy had a foam finger which he thought was the coolest thing ever.  And, to top off the evening...there were fireworks after the game.  Sue Ann said she wishes we could have seen the look on his face during the fireworks.  He was loving every minute of it.  He still talks about it with such enthusiasm and excitement.  How grateful we are for Sue Ann and all the special things she does with our children. 

Special Night Out

Joel and I wanted to do something special with just Thomas and Spring to celebrate the end of a great school year and to spend some time with just them.  They are pretty amazing kids and we rely on them a lot.  They are always willing to help out and lighten our load.  With the ages of the younger kids it is sometimes difficult to focus on them when we are out doing things as a family and often they are helping us with the younger ones.  So, we decided to spend an evening out with just them.  Let me say, I am so grateful we did!  We got a sitter for the younger ones and the 4 of us went out for some fun.  We played miniature golf, which we haven't done in years.  I loved walking the course and being able to laugh together and listen to the things they wanted to talk about.  It was a relaxing and calm evening as we weren't in a rush and we didn't have to keep track of wandering kids.  After it was over we took them to get ice cream at Stow Cone. You should have seen the looks on their faces when we told them they could choose anything off the menu and not just a cone like we usually do when we go as a family.  It was priceless.  Spring chose the chocolate volcano (chocolate ice cream, oreos, chocolate syrup) and Thomas chose a Reese's PB sundae (chocolate ice cream with crushed peanut butter cups, and peanut butter topping).  All night they kept saying to us, "Thanks for taking us tonight." or "This is so much fun.  Thanks so much for bringing us."  I loved the night!

Another School Year Completed

(Above pictures were from the first day of school last August.)

Yesterday was the last day of school for Thomas and Spring.  Thomas completed 4th grade and Spring completed 2nd grade.  They had great years and received many awards at the school awards assembly.  As I was driving Thomas to piano lessons after school yesterday the three of us were talking about the year and remembering how nervous and scared they were the first day of school.  Spring, in particular, was scared about starting a new school and afraid she wouldn't have any friends.  It was neat to talk with them about this and help them realize how many friends they had made and how everything had worked out just right for them.  We are all excited for summer.  I love having our kids home with us all day.  Mary kept telling me all day yesterday, "I'm so excited for summer vacation. Then I get to spend all day with my best buddy, Spring!"

Last day of school